January 2004, Volume 35, Issue 1
Coronado Railroad Designated Again
— Designation to be Appealed
SOHO won a major battle in the effort to preserve the Coronado Railroad on Friday, December 19th. After three hours of presentations before the City of San Diego's Historical Resources Board, the board voted 9 to 1 on all criteria, A, B & C, for historical designation.
Historic Support for the Coronado Railroad! Thanks to all who participated; we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you to Senator Jim Mills who is a big supporter of both rails and bike trails. Over fifty people came in support of designation, along with letters from all the major historical groups in the San Diego Bay region, including the San Diego Historical Society and the Maritime Museum Association. This effort represented the largest group of historical societies and museums ever to unite in a single historic preservation cause in anyone’s memory since SOHO was founded. It is anticipated by many that this coalition will work together on other important issues in the future. As a group we represent upwards of 20,000 members and many more San Diegans indirectly.
One of the Historical Resources Board members stated, "This item is head and shoulders above the other items we deal with on a day-to-day basis; I wish we had more like this. The Coronado Railroad is unquestionably historic!"
It is now time for the opposition to come to the table and work out a compromise that will satisfy all concerned and move forward with the project. The opposition has already wasted too much time in trying to deny that the resource is historic and in trying to avoid and manipulate the environmental process, all of which has resulted in the loss of their credibility.
We need to put all this behind us and work together for a better San Diego. The solutions are so much easier than fighting, and in the end San Diego can have both the historic railroad, which is irreplaceable and invaluable to the future economy of the area, as well as a bike path for recreationists.
Since the historic designation was determined, the opposition has in all its wisdom chosen to appeal it to the City Council. Our Executive Director has appeared before MTDB. He twice met with Supervisor Cox’s office giving them all the information and every opportunity they need to create a win-win situation for the bike path and the railroad, thereby serving the needs of all their constituents and not just an elite few.
Please take the time now to write and ask the Mayor and City Council to support their Historical Resources Board and deny the appeal that will come before them.
Contact Mayor Dick Murphy & City Council members
